


Kokoro

by Mitsuki81



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: (kind of), AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Voldemort Wins, Angst, Electronic & magic, Family Feels, Fluff, Fluff & Angst, Full of Mistakes, Gakupo - Freeform, Gen, Good Severus Snape, Happy Ending, Harry Potter is Not a Horcrux, Harry Potter is Not the Boy-Who-Lived, Horcruxes, I suppose, I'm french, Kagamine Rin - Freeform, Kokoro - Freeform, Magic, No Beta, Overuse of capital letters, Robot!harry, Severitus | Severus Snape is Harry Potter's Parent, Severus Snape Has a Heart, Song Inspired, Thank You and GoodBye, Vocaloid - Freeform, and it makes quite sense once you'll read this story, electronic, it's an unintended pun, kind of, sorry - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:09:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24098605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mitsuki81/pseuds/Mitsuki81
Summary: 『 A robot was made by a lonely scientist. In every way, the final result could be called a 'MIRACLE' 』***Inspired by the famous Vocaloid song "Kokoro" by Toraboruta-P***Edit 5/24/2020I corrected some errors I was able to spot! It should be slightly better now!Edit 8/17/2020This time, there's a real improvement of the whole OS! I hope you'll have a great time reading this!
Relationships: Harry Potter & Severus Snape, Remus Lupin/Severus Snape
Comments: 19
Kudos: 33





	Kokoro

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! And welcome in this OS! I hope you'll like it!
> 
> Sorry for the poor summary, but I don't want to reveal too much about the story...! ^^' Anyway, I hope you'll like it! :)
> 
> This One-Shot is inspired by three songs. (copy-paste the link on YT!), and I use some "quote" from them through the OS
> 
> The first one is "Kokoro", sung by Kagamine Rin, produced by Toraboruta-P ( /watch?v=LE1lx0-xFrA for the sub, and here: /watch?v=B4y3vCbLNRM my favourite PV)
> 
> The second is "Goodbye, Thank you" sung by Gakupo, which is the "official" answered song to the first, produced by the same guy ( /watch?v=nEQF7-B9mKw ) who deserved so much more recognition, damn it!
> 
> The third and last song is "Kokoro Kiseki", the 'fan answered' song to Kokoro sung by Kagamine Len ( /watch?v=mvmL4Yx7eyk ) 
> 
> Nothing belong to me, the universe is the propriety of J.K Rowling, and the story is highly inspired by the song by Toraboruta-P, and I don't make money with my stories, I just write them because I like to write!
> 
> Enjoy! o/
> 
> PS : Forgive me for any mistake in this story, I'm french and I only use Grammarly (basic option) to correct me, no beta, sorry!  
> PS2 : I'm not an information expert, so this is totally random facts, lol! Also, I might be inaccurate about what could be done or not in the 80's-90's but... Huh... Let's say they are in an alternate universe where certain things were possible sooner...?

** ~1st November 1981~ **

“Severus, you must list-“

“No!” snapped the young wizard, “I’ve spent enough of my life listening to others! And look what I’ve become! I’m sick of people telling me what to do!”

Dumbledore face darkened, “Without my help, your future will be in Azkaban.”

Severus scoffed, “As if I was scared of that possibility.” He said, waving the idea away with one hand, and the Headmaster scowled.

“I have no idea of what you are planning, but I can tell it’s a very dark and dangerous path you are walking on.” Argued the old man, “And I know for sure that it’s not happiness you’re going to find at the end.”

“That’s because you’re too blind by your ideals to be able to think outside the little box you placed yourself in.” snarled the potion master, “Besides, it’s the least I can do for them…”

“You’re not responsible for their death, Severus. You’re not the one who sent the curse at them, and you’re not the one who tells Voldemort about Lily’s child-“

“That doesn’t mean I don’t feel guilty for their death.” Snapped the young man, “I’m the one who mentions the prophecy to the Dark- to Voldemort.” And Snape repressed a shudder at the name, “The Potters are dead because of me.”

The Headmaster looked at the young man in front of him with pity and tried to put his hand on his shoulder, “My boy…”

Severus slapped it away.

“Don’t” he said in a low, cold voice, “ ‘my boy’ me. I’ve made my decision, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.” And with those words, the potion master turned on his heels and headed toward the door.

“The Aurors will try to arrest you, and the remaining Death Eater won’t rest until they killed you for good. You are a traitor for both sides, Severus. Please, take my proposition before it’s too late for you.”

The man stopped at the door and let a hollow chuckle escaped him.

“You’ve failed me years ago, Headmaster, when you ignored the cries for help of a young Slytherin boy.” He said bitterly, looking back at the old man with blank eyes, “I can only hope that you’ll change your ways to avoid the mistakes you’ve made with all of us.”

And on those words, Severus left, his robes billowing behind him, and Albus Dumbledore fell into his seat with a defeated sigh.

In front of him was the picture of a group of smiling young people. Did they know that half of them would be dead before the end of the decade? It seemed that an eternity had passed since the day this picture had been taken.

On his perch in the corner of the study, Fawkes began to sing a sorrowful chant, wishing for the fallen to rest in peace in the sweet embrace of death.

~*~

『 A robot was made by a lonely scientist. In every way, the final result could be called a ‘MIRACLE’』

~*~

** ~ 1989 – Unknown month ~ **

In a dark, very dark room, a man was working on his latest project. His masterpiece. The work of a lifetime. Around him were magical and muggle devices, cauldron bubbling softly alongside screens and machine beeping time to time, sending an eerie light to the room.

In the centre was a small circular platform connected by wires to the muggle machines as an analysis charm surrounded the device in the middle, alert to any kind of change that could end up as a failure of the project.

The man, wizard or scientist, it wasn’t essential at this point, was tall being, with an ill-white skin with a shallow face, a hooked nose and greasy hair that fall limply around his head. He was far too thin to be healthy, and dark circle surrounded his onyx eyes. Still, if someone paid attention to his face, they could almost see the ghost of a smile gracing his lips.

This man was Severus Snape. Once, he had been a student at Hogwarts, then a Death Eater, then a spy. But now, he was a lonely being working on his project days and nights without rest. It had been years since the wizarding world last heard of him. Even if some people – mostly a very meddling old man with half-moon-shaped glasses – tried their hardest to find him, it had been as if the wizard had simply vanished from the surface of the globe.

Waving his wand while muttering an incantation, Severus reviewed in his mind what he might forget to do, then smiled. If his theories were correct, the ‘it’ should be able to function autonomously, to think by ‘itself’ and to act like a ‘normal being’. Waving a cauldron at him, he poured the potion bubbling silently into a syringe and went to injected into the neck of his creation.

It was a creature looking like a human with jet-black air and features belonging to a specific line of wizards which could be retraced to the era of the Peverells. His body was a strange mix of flesh and robotic parts (the later hidden under the former). The whole thing was held together thanks to powerful (*cough*dark*cough*) magic that a lot of wizards and witches of the present time would frown upon.

The boy was dressed simply in comfortable muggle clothes. He looked something around fifteen years old. One could have believed it was real human if it weren’t for the wires poking out from the back of its head.

Nodding to himself, he cast the last spell before turning toward one of the machines and began to type on the keyboard. Some screens lighted on, illuminating the room with white-blue light, beeping and clicking and activating as the muggle devices began to interact with the magic in the room.

If he wasn’t so focused on the task at hand, Severus would have laughed at the irony of the situation. He had just discovered a whole new magic field by making it work with electricity and muggle technology. Yet, no one will ever know about that discovery! Ha!

One of the screens at his left displayed the following line.

**{Execution of the program}**

**{*[H1JM5.P03R]* executed}**

**{Lauching of the program}**

Severus could feel the magic mixed with the electricity vibrating in the room, and he readied himself to send his most potent shield in case something went wrong.

There was a whistle, more beeping until the small screen in front of the boy turned green.

**{Program successfully executed}**

**{Activation *[H1JM5.P03R]* program}**

Holding his breath, Severus walked toward his creation as it slowly opened its eyes. The wizard was happy for the hours he had spent trying to find the right shade of green for the LED, as a feeling of melancholy submerged him when his gaze locked with the one’ of the robot in front of him.

“Hello,” he said, “Do you know who you are?”

The creation stilled a few seconds as the last bit of DATAs were upload into his system before answering.

〘 My name is H1JM5.P03R, sir 〙

“Good.” He nodded, “But it’s more a way to simplify your coding than a true name. Your name is Harry, alright?”

‘Harry’ processed the information, and Severus could see it being downloaded through the dark green glass of the robot eyes.

**{File *name* updated. New *name* [Harry]}**

Severus nodded once more “And do you know who am I?”

〘 You are my creator, sir 〙

“That’s right,” said Severus before extending one hand toward Harry, “My name is Severus Snape. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Harry.”

There was a pause, as the creation worked the new name into his memory, and the wizard made a mental note of improving the speed of the saving process.

**{File *acquaintance* updated. *Severus Snape* added to the data base*}**

**{Connection detected. File *creator*/*acquaintance*** **à** **Severus Snape}**

**{*Severus Snape* updated}**

However, Harry didn’t take his hand to shake it, like expected. Instead, he stayed unmoving, and the screen that had glowed green until now changed to red, and Severus walked toward it as soon the change occurred to understand the nature of the problem.

He frowned at the words displayed on the screen.

**{ERROR DETECTED – Unknown information}**

**{*pleasure* not recognise by the database – restart of the system}**

Severus looked up at Harry, seeing that the light in his eyes had turned off. The screen flashed black and white for a few moments before turning green once more.

The boy blinked once or twice, the light illuminating the green orbs again, before turning his blank gaze at him.

〘 A problem occurred, sir, but it has been settled. Should something similar happen in the future, I’ll be able to deal with it without rebooting, sir〙

Severus frowned, “Please, call me Severus, and tell me, how do you feel, now?”

〘 Yes, Severus. As for your question, my system is functioning correctly, and the lag from saving new information is resolved. 〙

“That’s good to hear, but my question is, how do you feel, outside your basic functioning?”

There was a pause at that, as the robot looked at him with vacant eyes, then he tilted his head on the side〘 I’m sorry, I didn’t understand the question, Severus 〙

The potion master tried again, having a nagging feeling about what the problem may be, yet hoping it was not what he feared.

“What do you like, Harry?”

〘 I’m sorry, I didn’t understand the question 〙

“Is there something you would like to do?”

〘 I’m sorry, I didn’t understand the question 〙

Severus asked several questions of the same vein, always obtaining the same monotone answer from the boy. After a few minutes, he reached one hand toward the boy's chest, looking for something that should be there.

But there was nothing.

~*~

『 However, it wasn't enough. Something lacked, that couldn’t be created. A unique program called ‘HEART’』

~*~

** ~Mid-November 1981~ **

“You want me to what?!”

“I thought I was clear. You are more a dunderhead than I thought you were, Lupin, I’m almost disappointed.”

Remus Lupin, last of the marauders, blinked owlishly at his vis-à-vis, a man called Severus Snape, a rogue wizard who had a price on his head from both sides of the war. He still didn’t know why he let the young potion master enter his house, offering him tea, at four in the morning, but he did.

After all, they were only a few days away from the full moon, and the wolf was kind of restless.

“I’m sorry, but you have to understand that last time I saw you, you hated me. And now you are asking me to help you raise a Fidelitas Charm. You can understand that I’m in shock.”

“I didn’t hate you per see,” commented absent-mindedly Severus, “I resented you for not taking actions and stopping your friends when they were bullying me, but I didn’t hate you. Never.”

“Oh, uh, thanks, I suppose.” A pause, “I’m sorry, by the way.”

“Don’t be. We were young, and you made a mistake. And if I’m honest, I’ll say that they were almost ‘harmless’ when you compare them to mine…”

Remus looked at the potion master, who had his gaze fixed into his cup of tea, with sadness. He was aware of what the young Death Eater-turned-spy-for-the-light-side did for Voldemort, and still, looking at how broken Snape was, the chatain couldn’t find in him the courage to resent him.

“Still, we shouldn’t have picked up on you like that. I can help but think that it was our pranks on you that push you even more toward the dark path we thought you were already on.” Continued the werewolf, then he took a deep breath and lean on the back of his seat.

“You know, when Dumbledore mentioned that the Order had a spy, Lily immediately knew that it was you. Well, it was more suspicion, and Albus never confirmed or denied it. She said to us ‘I’m certain it’s Sev’! He was my best friend, and even if he made decisions I can’t understand and hurt me, I know that he is, deep inside, a good person!’. I think I don’t need to tell you that Sirius thought otherwise, and James was more than septic.”

Severus noted that Remus didn’t mention Pettigrew, but that was fine with him.

Because he was pretty sure that both of their anger would blast everything around them within five miles radius, at least.

The werewolf stayed silent a few moments, letting the potion master time to assimilate his words,

“Lily managed to convince James, in the end. How, I still don’t know, but he told me that if he had the opportunity, he’d talked to you to clear the things left unsaid and all the bad blood. Because if you truly were a spy, then you were not the man he thought you were.” Murmured Remus, looking at his laps. “They even envisaged to write you a letter, or something, but Peter’s betrayal happened before, he spilt The Secret to Voldemort, and now they are all dead. Still, I think that they would have liked you to know that…”

The werewolf’s voice broke at the end as his shoulders began to shake from the sobs that were tearing him apart. Severus was not better, tears flowing on his cheeks as soon as the other mentioned Lily. For a long time, both men cried shamelessly, the weight of what happened less than a month before crashing upon them once more.

They cried until they were both dried from tears, and from that point. At this moment, a bond form itself between the two, binding them together in a peculiar comradeship born from their shared sadness.

“I think I would have forgiven Potter if he had asked for it.” Managed to say Severus in the morning, (the sun had risen at some point while they were crying without their notice). “From what I heard from Dumbledore, he had truly grown up between the end of our seventh years and that day.”

Remus nodded, “Yeah, I think the change happened when Lily told him she was pregnant. Never was the same after that day,” laughed the man, “Sirius even settle down a little when they asked him to be Harry’s godfather.”

Severus grimaced at the mention of the older Black, but said nothing, knowing what happened next…

Seemed that Remus was following the same track of thoughts as Severus’.

“I still can’t believe that Peter killed him after betraying James and Lily.” Growled the werewolf, sending shivers down Severus’ spine, “And that fucking rat managed to avoid Azkaban by hiding behind his dear ‘Dark Lord’ ‘s robes.” He spat before taking a calming breath, and his eyes, which had turned yellow, returned to their warm brown colour.

“I suppose that Peter had told him about Lily’s suspicion. I suspected that I had lost his favours at some point in the last months. But if I had known it was because of Peter…”

Remus put one hand against his arm, squeezing it, “I know.” Murmured the werewolf, a sad smile on his lips, reassuringly.

Severus sighed before rubbing his face, “Are you safe, by the way? He and his Death Eater know that you are an Order member, so I suppose they won’t let you in peace, am I right?”

Remus nodded tiredly, “Yes. Dumbledore helped me to put some ward on this house, so I should be safe until the next full moon, but then I’ll have to move. Maybe I’ll go to the continent. This way I’ll be able to help… Somehow.”

“I don’t think the old goat’s going to let you do that.”

“One can hope,” chuckled Remus hollowly, “Speaking of him, he’s quite cross with you, you know? He didn’t tell me why, but, ah, let’s say that your last encounter didn’t leave a good opinion of you in his mind.”

Severus bit his lips. He weighed the pros and cons of telling Lupin about his plan, knowing already deep inside what his decision was since the moment he decided to ask him to help him with the Fidelitas.

“Before I tell you what I plan, I’ll need an Oath that you won’t tell anybody what I’m planning to do, regardless you agreed to help me or not. Then, I also need to warn you that what I’m planning is going to deal with very dark magic, but I hope, and I know, it will be for the best in the end.”

Nodded gravely at Severus before taking out his wand and making the Oath.

Once the magic settled around them in a rain of silvery sparks, Severus took a deep breath and snatched a little jar from his satchel, an orb glowing golden and green light in it.

“I know this is going to sound crazy, but this is Harry Potter’s essence.”

~*~

** ~1992 – unknow month~ **

Severus watched Harry silently as the robot moved around the potion room, following the step he had written on a blackboard. It was a simple cure for boils potion, and the potion master was pretty sure that if the boy followed the instruction to the ‘T’, there would be no problem.

Sighing, he leaned against the wall behind him.

The robot was magical, there was no denying. After all, Severus had used a wizard essence to create him, and Harry was powerful. But knowing who the parents were, it was no surprise that their child was as gifted as them.

Severus looked at Harry, at his blank face and vacant eyes, and wonder what he had missed. Oh, he knew that something like a ‘heart’ wasn’t easily created, if not impossible. Still, he had spent years on this project, and he should have seen a sign, anything, that could have hinted to the problem, so maybe he would have been able to look into it far sooner…!

A strange scent caught his nose and Severus looked up to see that the cauldron Harry was working on was melting.

_The boy had added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire!_

The robot was looking at the whole scene blankly, not registering that something was wrong. It was only because Severus tackled him that he avoided an explosion that would have melted part of his arm, flesh and metal mixed.

Both fell to the ground, and the potion master quickly waved his wand at the mess, vanishing it before it did more damages, then sighed.

He glared at Harry.

“You idiot! You could have been badly hurt if I didn’t react! Why didn’t you move?!”

The robot blinked owlishly at him.

〘 I suppose it was not a normal reaction, then? 〙

“Of course not! You dunderhead! You have no idea how much you scared me!”

Harry stared blankly at him, not understanding what was happening, and Severus sighed before hugging the boy close, relief washing over him.

As expected, Harry’s arms stayed unmoving at his side, and Severus had to swallow his sadness.

_‘I promise you, Harry, that I won’t fail you even more than I already did. I promise that I’ll give you a heart…’_

~*~

** ~March 2054~ **

As usual, Harry’s recharging base beeped as the robot opened his eyes. Flexing one by one his fingers, he began his internal analysis. As no issues were found, the green-eyed being slowly unplugged himself.

Arranging the wires neatly against the wall, Harry began to move around the room, taking a broom and dusting the ground. Since Severus decided to rest after an errand several years ago, Harry spent his days moving around aimlessly, not that he realised that fact. Once he was done, he walked toward the room Severus was, the one with the kitchen, and after knocking twice at the door, opened it.

Severus was still on the ground, resting. He was even thinner than the last time, and his skin was strangely white. But then again, the man didn’t move from the ground since he apparated back from Merlin knew where covered in that strange red liquid. Harry remembered that Severus had smiled at him, patted his cheek and tried to say something before going to sleep.

〘 Is there anything I can do for you, Severus? 〙he asked, as always, and as always, there was no answer.

The same pattern had repeated itself for more than fifty years. Yet, Harry continued to ask if Severus needed something.

Because, after all, one day, he might.

〘 Well then, I suppose I’ll let you rest. I’ll be around if you need me for anything. 〙

Harry closed the door and went about his daily routine.

He read books Severus had brought about magical theory, even if he had read them cover to cover several times already. Then exercised his spell casting and his transfiguration before going out to ride the broom Severus had bought him one day. He remembered the day as it was yesterday, but it was not surprising knowing that his memory was next to perfect. Severus had told him it was something someone special to Harry (he hadn’t been able to understand the word) did all the time before (once again, didn’t understand) and that Harry might be interested in it.

The robot, after his first fly, had explained the mechanism of the broom to Severus, believing it what was expected of him. Still, the man had sighed, looked at him with those strange eyes, and patted his head.

Sometimes, Harry wondered why Severus looked oddly when he executed something at the perfection or explained the mechanism behind certain things. He wondered why his lips shuddered weirdly at his comments or the way the potion master always hugged him or patted his head from time to time.

Harry knew there was something that was expected from him, but he had no idea what it was.

_〘_ _Is it because something is wrong with my system?_ _〙_ _he had asked, and Severus had shaken his head._

_“No, you are perfect. It’s just something I’m working on. One day I’ll give you this last program, and then you’ll understand.” He had said with his low voice, the one he used each time he looked at him with the strange look in his eye._

The robot had nodded that day, trusting Severus about the update of his system.

And yet, it had been years since that discussion happened. Shouldn’t Severus have finished it already? Maybe he was working when Harry was recharging on his base, that’s why he was always resting when the robot was ‘awake’.

Maybe.

Harry stilled his broom, floating a few feet above the ground.

Maybe he could peak a sneak at Severus work? After all, the man never forbade him to do so, and Harry had access to his computers, so it should be okay, right?

Nodding to himself, Harry landed on the ground, put the broom into its resting place and went into the house. He walked by his base, by the door leading to the kitchen where Severus rest to the study where the scientist work. The door resisted a little when he tried to open it but gave in after a few seconds.

The room was extremely dusty, and something looking like mould on the walls. Harry blinked a few time, wondering why Severus didn’t ask him to clean the room. Then he remembered that the man was resting and thus, couldn’t ask him to.

Walking toward the main computer, Harry turned it on, entered Severus ID and began to look around. He found some files that corresponded to his latest update, which corrected minor bugs, but nothing too significant. Harry supposed that Severus was done with that part of his program.

However, his ocular captors caught the sight of a file a little apart from the others. The naming was strange, different from the other data.

「ココロ」.exe

It read, and Harry blankly stared at the characters. Somewhere in his data bank, one information came forward.

[[Japanese, [kokoro], “Heart” in English.]]

Starring at the screen, Harry wondered if it was the program Severus talked so much about, the one he intended to give him. Looking at the date of the last update of the file, the robot noted that it happened more than fifty years ago, a little before the day Severus came back and go to rest a little.

Without processing his decision, Harry _accioed_ his cable, connected the back of his neck to the computer and double click on the Kokoro program.

**_{ALERT! This program is unstable}_ **

**_{Executing this program could result in an ERROR and destroy the system}_ **

**_{Continue?}_ **

Harry stopped himself and thought about this possibility.

It would be a problem if the ERROR happened, but then again, Severus would be there to repair Harry if needed.

Staring blankly once more at the screen, Harry execute the program

~*~

** ~ 1990 – unknown month ~ **

Severus shifted, feeling soft hands caressing his hair as a blanket was resting on his shoulder.

Seemed like he fell asleep on his working table once more.

“Cosy?” asked a warm voice playfully, and the potion master smiled a little, leaning against the touch on his head.

“Kind of,” he said before yawning a little, making Remus laugh, “How did you enter?”

“Harry let me in. Told me he needed to clean his recharging base and indicated me you were in your study.”

Severus hummed before standing up and stretching, making his shoulder pop. Then, with a wave of his wand, he cleaned up the mess he had left and saved his progress on his coding.

“How your research is going?” asked the werewolf, his chin propped up on the potion master shoulder, his arms enveloping his thin waist.

“Very slowly” sighed Severus while closing his file. “Who would have thought that human feelings were so difficult to understand?” He asked dryly at no one, making the werewolf chuckle.

“Not me, that for sure,” Remus answered the not-a-real-question before kissing the man on the clavicle and releasing him. Then he turned toward the door leading to a small kitchen to prepare some tea.

Severus huffed before following the werewolf, sitting at the table, and _accioed_ his tea service to them. Remus smiled at him before preparing the kettle, and the black-haired man rested his head against his palm and admire his companion with a small smile.

Feeling his gaze on him, the werewolf looked over his shoulder, “What?”

“Nothing.” Smiled Severus, and Remus let the matter go.

Once the water was boiling, the chatain poured it inside the tea-pot, and Severus added his blend into, letting it infused for a few minutes.

They sat for a few moments in an agreeable silence, their fingers laced together, appreciating the time they could spend together.

“You know,” eventually said Remus, “What you did with Harry could be called a Miracle.”

Severus arched an eyebrow at him, his silent question evident, even if it weren’t the first time they had this conversation.

“As you said yourself once when you were completely drunk, you’ve just discovered a whole new field of research in magic coupled it with muggle electricity.”

“It’s not quite the same thing” corrected the potion master, but Remus waved it off,

“Trivialities,” he said, “I mean, mixing basic transfiguration, soul magic and a tiny-tiny bit of necromancy with muggle device for the connections…” he shook his head in awe, “it’s amazing.”

“Thank you.” Smiled Severus while serving them each a cup of tea, adding the two spoonfuls of honey inside his better-half cup, and a squeeze of lemon in his. “It was the least I could do for Lily and James, after all… I couldn’t let Voldemort, or Dumbledore, for that matter, take hold of his essence. They would have destroyed him.” He murmured, and Remus moved his chair next to his and put his arm around his shoulder.

“And still… I have the feeling that I failed them…”

“Don’t say that.” Hushed the werewolf, trying to ease the pain he could hear in his lover's voice, “You did an amazing job with Harry. Before I came to find you, I discussed a little with him. And, by Merlin, you managed to make him human.”

“Not enough, though.” Mumbled Severus sadly, nursing his cup of tea between his hands, “Months I’m working on that program, and still no progress.”

Remus huffed before taking the said cup out of Severus' hands, putting it on the table, next to his own, and pulled him closer until forcing him to straddle his laps. Linking his hands behind his lover's neck, Remus brought his forehead against his.

“If someone can do it, it’s you. You are an amazing wizard, a prodigy potioner and a revolutioner as you open a whole new field of research associating magic and muggle technology.” Pointed out Remus. “Besides,” he kissed him on the forehead. “From what I see,” the cheeks. “You are making,” the nose. “Outstanding progress, so don’t be too harsh on yourself, would you?” he murmured, his lips a few millimetres from Severus’ who huffed a little at that.

“If you say so… I’ll try to look at it on the bright side, even if I can’t help but feeling that I should have thought about it sooner.”

Remus sighed with a small smile, “I suppose it’s the best I can hope for from you.” He teased before leaning up and kissing the potion master on the lips, who returned it with eagerness, melting against the muscular stature of his boyfriend.

And for a few, blissful, moments, the world consisted of each other as they let themselves into the warm embrace of their lover. Remus lightly pulled on Severus, making him gasp, allowing the former to deepen the kiss. The black-haired man began to unbutton the werewolf’s shirt, caressing the skin softly under it, feeling the beginning of arousal pressing against his-

〘 Severus, why are you eating Remus’s face? 〙

Said man groaned before hiding his face into the chatain neck as the other barked a laugh.

“Severus is not eating my face Harry, don’t worry.”

The robot blinked a few times blankly before tilting his head on the side.

〘 Oh 〙he said, 〘 What are you doing then? 〙

“Something which is not your fucking business” mumbled Severus into Remus's neck, and the chatain tutted at him a ‘language’ before answering Harry.

“Maybe we’ll explain it to you later.”

〘 Okay, then I suppose I’m going to recharge then. Should I download the latest update you made or not, Severus? 〙

“No, I’ve not quite finished it yet.” Answer the scientist from where he stood, “Go to rest now.”

Harry nodded once.

〘 Yes, sir 〙he answered before exiting the study.

There was a silence for a few seconds before Remus began to chuckle and Severus scowled.

“I swear to Merlin, once I get this program right, the first he’ll learn will be embarrassment.” Making the other into another fit of giggle.

The werewolf kissed him on the top of the head before moving to a certain point at the juncture between Severus’s ear and jaw, feeling the other man shudder against him.

“Well, to avoid another awkward moment like this one, we always could move toward the bedroom, if it’s agreeable?”

The potioner smiled down at him.

“It is.”

~*~

『 You have given me, who have nothing, a heart capable of loving someone else.』

~*~

** ~September 1993~ **

“Listen. You must act with caution, or you might scare or offend her.” Murmured Severus at Harry who looked blankly at the hippogriff in front of him, “Always keep an eye contact with her, don’t blink, good. Now, you have to bow. If she returned it, then you’ll be able to come closer, if not, step back _slowly_ , alright?”

〘 Yes, Severus. 〙answered Harry, doing as instructed.

Severus wasn’t worried about the boy blinking, knowing that he didn’t need to, but he feared that the boy’s lack of emotion might be a problem. The scientist had his wand ready in case he had to act rapidly, but when Harry bowed to the beauty on front of them, who then bowed back, he let a relieved sigh escaped him.

“As I told you, you can get closer, but don’t touch her. Present your hand, and if she’s okay with it, then she’ll present her head to your hand.”

Harry nodded and did precisely what Severus instruct him.

Since activating the robot, the potion master was adamant about giving the boy the magical education he was denied the night Voldemort took his life away. Severus still didn’t understand how the boy’s essence was able to stay on this plane of existence, but he supposed it had to do with something Lily did. In any case, it was because of it that the robot could do magic and use a wand.

(Acacia, 11 ¾ inches, thestral hair, had said the Russian wandmaker. She was a very discreet woman who swore a Secret Oath for each wand she sells, saying it was to avoid ‘filing’ wizards.)

Severus leaned against the nearest tree as the hippogriff let a happy cry out after nudging the robot hands, reclaiming more petting from the boy, who did so automatically.

The man let himself smile at the picture they were making, his mind years in the past, seeing a young red-head girl doing the same thing in her third year.

One of the oddest things about Harry was how innate aspect of his personality could shine through the stoic-emotionless side of him. It was all code, but it was amazing to see.

Like the time caught him humming a song while doing his chores (Queen, _I want to break free_. Snape had, after all, a lot of vinyl in his possession that he liked to listen to time to time) as his mother did. Or that day when he ‘snapped’ back at him with a witty comment, sounding so much like Remus, or even his tendencies to mischief that could only belong to James, and maybe Sirius.

He had told the boy about his parents. It was something he had put into his system when he was coding the boy personality… It was strange and fantastic, and that was because of those little ‘incidents’ that made him more like the little one he should have been that Severus wanted to give the boy a heart. He wanted Harry to be able to experiment them fully, could understand why those spares, yet precious, moments were so valuable.

Harry as given him so much to hold onto, to live for and Severus couldn’t be happier. He loved the boy. So, so much it was almost scary, and yet, it filled Severus’ chest with so much peace that the potion master couldn’t care less.

The boy looked up at him, half-crushed under the hippogriff weight who continued to seek his attention, and Severus almost - _almost!_ \- saw the ghost of a smile on Harry’s face, and it took all of Severus willpower not to break down right on the spot.

~*~

** ~ July 1986 ~ **

“Hi Remus” saluted a blonde man with brown eyes, a very distinctive scar on his left temple, and the werewolf, who tensed at the greeting, relax little.

“Hello, Severus. I see that you find a new disguise. How should I call you, then?”

“Elin, but how long this persona is going to, only Merlin knows.”

Remus chuckled as the muggle waitress came at their table, extending _une carte_ each asking them, with a strong French accent, if they wanted to know what were the _suggestions du jour_ , which they refused before she went away.

“So, why do you want to meet in a café at Toulouse? I thought that Paris a better choice for courting.” Teased Remus, making the other blush while rolling his eyes.

“Oh, shut up.” He answered good-naturally, “I simply thought it would raise less suspicion if we meet in a less known location. As for why I’m making good progress in my project, but I’m going to need your help.”

Remus raised one eyebrow at the potion master, “Oh? Well, I’ll try my best, but I’m not sure that I’ll be handy.”

The waitress came back, asking for their order. They went for the classic breakfast course, and soon enough, they began to eat.

“I’m not asking your magical skills.” Explained Severus while raising a discreet silencing ward around them. “I’m beginning the personality stage, and even if I think I’ll be able to manage to code some aspect of Lily’s personality, I’m afraid that I’m useless when it came to James’, Sirius’ and yours.” Raised one hand to stop the werewolf before he asked. “I know that I have some knowledge about your group, but the rests of my, ah, bitterness against Potter and Black prevent me from taking a step back to look at the whole picture. And I couldn’t mess up this step, as I know that they somehow changed in the end. And if I need some of your personality as well is because I suppose you should have had a big influence in the kid’s life. One doesn’t forge their personality only upon their parents’, but also on the one of all those they interact with.” He continued, eating his breakfast slowly, and Remus listened, nodding time to time to show he saw what Severus meant.

“That’s… Very thoughtful of you… Don’t look at me like that!” defended himself Remus when ‘Elin’ glared at him, “I mean, I would never have thought of something like. I simply suppose that once you were done with the body, you’ll put Harry’s essence in it and be done with it!”

The blond sighed, “It was what I first thought too, but since, I had time to reflect and research and tried certain of theories… more or less successfully.” He chuckled hollowly.

(Remus would one day discover what Severus meant by that when he stumbled across a locked trunk; It was located inside a warded cave in the forest surrounding the potion master house (the whole area was under Fidelitas, hidden somewhere in the woods of East Russia). The cries that were coming out of it had haunted his dreams for several weeks)

Remus finished his hot chocolate before nodding at ‘Elin’.

“What will you need? Memories for pensine? Or should I write them?”

His vis-à-vis contemplated the suggestion, leaning back against his chair, arms crossed on his chest and left ankle on his right knees. Bit of both, I think. And it’s okay with you, I would like to use some legilimancie too. Because as good one memory extract from someone’s mind is, it’ll never equal the quality of seeing it from the said mind.”

Remus nodded, “Understandable. However, it’ll have to wait after the full moon. The wolf is very active the week before it.” He chuckled softly.

Severus said nothing for a few moments, watching oddly the werewolf.

“I think I could help you with that aspect.” He eventually said, making the chatain to look at him with one eyebrow raised.

“Huh?”

“There’s this recent discovery in the academic research field about lycanthropy. A potion that could help the patient to keep his mind during the full moon. I manage to take hold of the recipe. Even if the ingredients are costly, most are found in the area I’m living in.” he developed, “This way, we have an agreement which benefits both of us. I provide you with Wolfsbane, you help on my project if that’s okay with you?”

Remus looked at the potion master in shock. He had a hard time to believe what the other man was offering to him.

He might have stared at him in silence for a while because ‘Elin’ began to fidget on his seat.

“But I’ll understand if you refuse, after all-“

He didn’t finish his sentence as the werewolf reached across the table for his hands, taking them in his and brought them to his lips, kissing Severus’ knuckles.

“Yes,” he answered in a breath, looking with gleaming eyes the blond, who blushed and looked away, a small smile tugging at his lips.

“Great.”

~*~

** ~March 2054~ **

Less than a second after the execution of the ‘Kokoro’ program, Harry fell to the ground, gasping for air.

_What was happening?!_

Thousand and thousand information were crashing at the same time into his processor, and the robot couldn’t work them out! It was just too much! So, so much! What was Severus thinking while programming something like that?!

The strange feeling of… Annoyance (!!) Harry felt in this instant help him to snap out of the odd state he was in, and it was at this moment that he noted that moisture was covering his cheeks.

Bringing his fingers to his face, he noted that small drops were crashing on his palms endlessly.

 _Are that tears?_ Thought the creation, staring at the small drops that were falling from his eyes, _And why am I shaking?_

His hands seemed to not want to stay immobile, like his arms, and the rest of his body. Something inside of him had been awakened and didn’t want to rest. It was clawing at his stomach, his throat, his mouth as the shaking worsened, and the tears continued to flow.

“Ah…”

The sound surprised him. He didn’t intend to do that! What was happening to him?!

And yet, as the first cry escaped him, the gates were open, and more, more, more tore his whole body. Harry curled up, trying to find some comfort with the feeling of his arms hugging his form as he cried his soul out on the ground.

Something inside his chest was beating furiously, not seeming to want to stop its wild race, making his head spin and his stomach knotted.

 _Is that the ‘HEART’ I desired?_ He thought desperately.

~*~

『 Now the movement has started. The ‘MIRACLE’ is accelerating. 』

~*~

** ~ May 1995~ **

“Severus.”

Said man froze when he heard that voice.

He had left that life behind him more than ten years ago! Why did it have to find him now?!

Closing his eyes, he turned slowly toward the woman and shook his head, hoping that the years apart would’ve been enough to fool her.

“I’m sorry, madam, but I’m afraid you have mistaken me with someone else.”

The tall, pale woman smirked at him, making the sharp colour of her blue eyes even sharper, and she even giggled at the comment.

“Oh, Severus, please, can we quit those formalities? You should know that it required great abilities to be able to fool a Black. I have to say I’m surprised. I would have never thought you’d be hiding in the depths of Russia.”

“What do you want Narcissa?”

The woman smiled even more at him, but there was something… Guarded in her look, in the way she stood. A light _legilimancie_ on her let him know that she was running from something. But as soon as she felt the brush of his mind against hers, she swatted him out.

“Now, now, Severus, be patient. I’ll explain everything to you as soon as you get us somewhere, we will be able to discuss _privately._ ”

The wizard squinted at her but eventually nodded and offered her his arm. She slipped her hands into the crook of his elbow, and he led her in the streets of Nertchinsk until they reached a pub. Severus ordered two coffee at the bar while Narcissa went to get them a table at the back of the room. Soon enough, Severus pushed a cup in front of her, raising wards discreetly around them, just to be safe.

“How did you find me?” was the first thing he asked.

“I can not tell to you exactly the detail” answered Narcissa, twirling her spoon into the dark liquid. “Black Family Magic, but it consisted of some kind of ritual involving one of your belongings. Do you remember the shirt you lent at Lucius and never get back?”

The wizard grimaced at the explanation. Bloody Blacks…

“I suppose that if you went those lengths to find me after all this time in the middle of Russia, it’s because you have something to ask me, don’t you?”

“Yes.” She answered after taking a sip of her drink (she almost managed to completely hide her disgust behind her well-crafted mask, but Severus, a spy once upon a time, saw it nonetheless). “I will not beat around the bush, what do you know about Horcruxes?”

Severus choked on his drink.

He wasn’t expecting _that_.

“What?” he croaked at the woman.

“Horcruxes, soul magic of the worst kind. What do you know about them?”

“Too much for my liking.”

She nodded, looking at something out the window visible only by her.

“And if I told you the Dark Lord made several of them?”

“Then I answered you that this man is madder than I initially thought.”

The woman cracked a smile before putting her back on her laps and take out a box with at least six locks and several charms and wards around it.

“There’s two of the Dark Lord Horcruxes in this box.” She declared, and Severus looked up at her with horror.

“What? How…?”

“He entrusted Lucius with one of them, a diary he used when he was a student at Hogwarts. The second is a locket rumoured to belong to the Slytherin line. Regulus stole it from where it was hidden in act of rebellion in 1979, before dying, and Kreacher, Grimmauld Place house-elf, had it with him since then. I’m almost sure there are more of them.”

Severus frowned at her, “Making one is already madness, two, an abomination, but more? It’s a wonder he still has a human appearance.” He sighed, shaking his head before looking up, “And you are telling me all this, because…?”

She took a deep breath, “I know that you left everything behind you when you left England, and I wonder how you manage to hide from the Dark Lord even with the Dark Mark on your arm… Anyway,” she paused to take another sip of her coffee, “A lot had happened since _that_ night and… Well, let’s say that I’m not _that_ enchanted by him anymore. Draco…” her voice broke, and she closed her eyes, tears rolling on her cheeks.

Severus reached across the table to put his hands on hers, understanding what might have happened to the poor boy.

“He was so young, and because he was not blind by the Dark Lord lies… Because he tried to do _better_ … He didn’t leave him a chance. If you had seen his body… No one would have recognised it as a human being.”

She took a deep breath,

“I can’t believe things had to be like _this_ for me to realise the errors of my ways… Lucius is far too involved to be saved anymore but… Now I know I can do something… to stop him… even at the cost of my own life…”

She lifted her gaze and locked eyes with Severus,

“Here’s the reason I look for you. I want to destroy the Dark Lord Horcruxes, but I know I couldn’t do it alone. But if we combine our forces, then maybe we’ll be able to do something _good_ for this world. He doesn’t suspect a thing… Yet… I switched the real ones with copy, and I hope it’ll be enough to fool him. The plan is to find all the Horcruxes he might have created. We put them together then we destroy them in one go. The best would be to have someone to kill him immediately after that, and I know there’s a lot more than that, but you get the idea. Are you in?”

There, the Black practicality. Direct in their words and intentions. Everything Severus needed to make his decision was laid in front of him.

Leaning back against his seat, he contemplated the woman’s plan. Of course, they’ll have to improve it, and he supposed that finding the remaining Horcruxes (no matter how many they were) wouldn’t be a piece of cake. And with Harry…

He sighed.

“Before I accept your proposition, there are a few things you need to know…”

Narcissa sighed in relief, her shoulders dropping a little as if a weight had been lifted from them.

“I’m listening…”

~*~

『 I, who have nothing, want to give you the same thing you give to me. 』

~*~

** ~ December 1997 ~ **

Severus tilted his head toward the sky, letting the snowflakes fall on his face. Searching into his memories, he took a deep breath before murmuring an incantation, moving his wand in a large circle.

“ _Spero Patronum!_ ”

From the tip of his wand, a silver thread of magic escaped. Then, running across the glade, was the form of a doe galloping around him, and a wave of peacefulness relieved Severus from the fear that was eating his insides for several hours already.

Once upon a time, his doe Patronus was the representation of his love for Lily. It then changed while his relationship with Remus (it still hurt to think about the man. Of how void his eyes were while he was starring without seeing it the enchanted ceiling of St Mungo a few months ago. Severus went there to help the battle that broke out into Wizarding London, using several charms to look different and not be recognised. He had held Remus hand until he drew his last breath. The battle had been useless, as Voldemort couldn’t be killed at that time, and the Potion Master resented whoever was behind the beginning of the fight.) evolved from a strange comradeship to something he could never think he would ever have.

But now, the Patronus took back its first form, not because of the love he had of someone long dead… But because of the love he had for someone worth fighting for.

“And this is the Patronus Charm” he declared as the doe stopped jumping around to nuzzle against his hand. “It’s a complicated charm to master, so I don’t expect you to manage it on your first try.”

 _Or ever_ , was the unspoken, unwanted, bitter thought,

Harry looked blankly at him, drew his wand out and said the spell, mimicking at perfection his wand movement and, as expected, nothing happened.

The boy lowered his arm.

〘 I think I missed something. 〙he declared with a flat voice, and Severus heart twisted in his chest.

“You need to think about a very, very happy memory, and use it to cast the spell.” Severus explained, even if he could see the struggle of Harry’s system to understand what he meant before the error occurred.

〘 I’m sorry, but I didn’t understand what you meant, Severus. 〙he declared automatically

Sighing sadly, the scientist crossed the distance between the two and drew Harry into a hug. He knew that his action was almost desperate, and he could feel the tears rolling on his cheeks, and he hugged the boy harder.

“It’s okay…” he murmured, “It’s not your fault…”

The boy's arm stayed unmoving by its side. As Severus released him, Harry tilted his head on the side, not understanding.

〘 Why are you crying? 〙

Snape swallowed but didn’t answer.

 _The boy couldn’t understand_.

The doe finished he tour of the glade before vanishing into the forest, and darkness became once more mistress of the night.

“Let’s go home. It’s getting cold.” Eventually said Severus, and with one hand against the boy upper back, he led him back to their house.

~*~

『 Mysterious Heart / Heart Mysterious. Now he knows what ‘HAPPINESS’ means 』

~*~

** ~ March 2054 ~ **

Harry didn’t know how long he stayed on the ground, screaming, and crying, and shaking, trying to understand what happened to him. Once he managed to calm down a little, he sat, breathing deeply, trying to set some order back to his confused mind… System… Whatever.

He felt … Sore… And his skin felt odd as the tears began to dry on his cheek. His whole form jumped time to time from the remaining sobs, and yet… Harry was feeling lighter from all this crying as if something had been lifted from his shoulder.

Raising slowly from the ground, He unplugged himself as the screen displayed a

**{** **「ココロ」** **successfully executed.}**

And the boy laughed at the words.

He gasped as he hands flew to his mouth. Once again, he had acted without intending to, and still… A smile stretched on his lips, and he put his hands on his chest, feeling the steady beat under his skin. He suddenly felt a wave of joy so overwhelming that he almost fell again. Instead, he let the building laugh escape him as happiness and relief took control of him. He twirled on himself, arms spread wide as he basked into the feeling. Suddenly, a thought came to his mind, and he rushed outside.

The sun was rising at the horizon, and the view they had from the top of the small cliff above the forest was breathtaking. The rest of the winter frost was gleaming under the sun rays, making the whole world shine, and Harry felt his eyes going wide at the beauty of the scene.

How could he have ignored such beauty until now?! And is that birds singing…?

His smile became even widen and with a wave of his hand, he _accioed_ his broom to him and took off.

The view was even more beautiful from the sky, and Harry had a hard time to believe that one could felt happier than at this moment. He also realised that riding his broom didn’t felt the same as before.

There was something more… Carefree about flying. Like Harry could reach the stars if he wanted and beyond.

Laughing, even more, he began to fly higher, higher, higher… Then let broom fall toward the ground at full speed before straighten up seconds before hitting the ground. Adrenalin, or something that felt like it, was rushing in his head, and Harry elated in the feeling.

Oh! It was the most beautiful gift he could have ever hoped for! Severus did a fantastic work with-

“Severus!” exclaimed Harry before another wave of joy mixed with trepidation crashed on him. The man would be delighted to see that his years of hard work finally bore their fruits!

The next moment, Harry landed, and letting his broom fell on the ground, he rushed inside.

“Severus!” he cried with an immense smile, running toward the room where he knew the man was, “Severus! It worked! Your heart program! It worked! I was able to cry, to laugh, to feel joy! You did it! You-“

His voice died as he stopped in front of the unmoving form of the scientist. Dread froze his inside.

“Severus?”

Something was wrong, horribly and terribly wrong. Harry knew it, as his recent memory of the man came back to him, and the boy refused to believe them.

“Hey, are you alright?” he asked, reaching toward the man – and Merlin, his hand was shaking! – tugging on his shoulder, “Severus?”

Harry barely caught a glimpse of a skull before he started to scream.

~*~

『 I won’t forget, I won’t forget the days we spent together.』

~*~

** ~ September 2055 ~ **

The duo apparated at the location of the mysterious explosion. The wave had been so massive scientists had been able to feel it from England, and words had come telling them that some ripples were detected in the US.

Whatever it was, it was big.

“Bloody hell!” exclaimed the man, looking around him with round eyes.

The forest was _shinning_ with magic, flowers blooming all around them, gleaming as if frost-covered to the whole area under the morning sun.

The woman began to dictated instruction at her auto-quill, noting down all they could find of interest.

“It’s like the whole place was made of magic!” continued the man, waving his wand around, analysing their surroundings, “Fascinating…”

The woman, after a moment, nodded sharply, “Yeah, whatever happened here is something never recorded in recent magic history. Come on Creevey, I have the feeling that there’s more to see.”

The blond nodded and follow his superior, Miss Longbottom, in the forest. The whole area looked like any other forests in the whole, but they detected human presence, as some remaining trails could be seen through the tall grass.

As they moved forward, a feeling of _joy_ and _peacefulness_ added itself at the magical aura of the place, and both Unspeakable didn’t know if they should be relieved or worried.

“There’s something over there!” exclaimed Creevey suddenly, pointing something on their left, and Miss Longbottom turned her head, frowning.

“Is that a house…?”

“It looks like.” Said the blond before waving his wand in a strange motion. “And it seems that the explosion came from there too.”

“Great…” mumbled the brunette before disillusioning the pair, not knowing what kind of danger might lurk in this place, even with the positive aura surrounding them.

Slowly, the duo approached the house, and after casting a _Homenum Revelio_ , which provided a negative result, they went inside.

The first thing they noticed was the smell. A musty smell tinged with something the dup couldn’t precisely point out, like some meat which had been left at open air for a few days without care.

Casting a _Lumos_ , the second thing they remarked was the strange devices scattered around the room. There were weird muggle devices that Creevey identified as ancient muggle machine, as well as several cauldrons here and there. On a corner was an old bookcase packed with books, two rotten armchairs and a small table in front of what was long abandoned fireplace.

Moving forward, they had to circle a strange platform in the middle of the room, surrounded by screens and wires, and continued onward. They passed another door leading to a kitchen, with a wooden table and three chairs, an abandoned tea service resting on the former, and strange brown stains were splattered on the ground. The door in front of the kitchen led to a small bedroom with a bathroom attached to it. The last door before the broken bay window, leading to the other side of the house, opened to an old study. There were other bookshelves also packed with books, potions ingredients, and two or three cauldrons knocked on the ground. On the study table was another ancient muggle device that Creevey identified as a computer.

On a whim, Miss Longbottom push on a button of it, and they were surprised to see that it was functioning.

“Bloody hell…” murmured Creevey before sitting down on the study, and began to tap on the keyboard.

The woman looked over his shoulder, not understanding a single thing the man was doing, until the screen flashed white, displaying a dozen of files.

Frowning, she asked, “What is it?”

“Some kind of codes,” answered Creevey, browsing around, “Unfortunately, I’m not familiar enough with the area of study to understand what those meant. Moreover, seeing how old all of this is, I’m afraid that the way its code is not taught anymore.”

Miss Longbottom hummed and stayed silent as the man continued to explore the files. She went toward the bookshelves and find them filled with school manuals, but also potion and magic theory essay and collective work, muggle ‘informatics’ (whatever that meant) and… Necromancy?

She took one of said book and began flick around it, stopping where the original owner left some kind of indication in the margins. Still, the spidery writing was so messy that she had a hard time to read what the author meant.

“Oh, oh! I think I found something!” suddenly declared Creevey, and Longbottom closed the book in her hands and went toward the other.

On the screen was the static picture of a man with long black hair and a hooked nose. He was reaching something above the screen, more certainly the cam he had used to record the video. The quality was pretty bad and seeing the date at the corner of the screen, she let a surprised gasp escaped her.

“Merlin…! This was recorded in 1998!”

“Yup,” answered Creevey, “The file was named ‘To Whom It Might Concern’, and it caught my interest.”

“Do you think it’s the man who lived here?”

“Maybe. Shall I start the video?”

The woman snapped her notebook at her, taking out her automatic quill, “Now you can.”

Creevey nodded and started the lecture.

The stranger removed his hands from the cam above the screen, rearranging himself before taking a deep breath and looking straight at them.

“My name is Severus Snape. Ex-Death Eater and Ex-spy for the Order of the Phoenix. If you see this video, whoever you are, then I died doing my last act of resistance against Voldemort. Even if I flew England seventeen years ago...”

The recording continued, and the two Unspeakable never expected to learn what they did during the next hours…

~*~

『 The first ‘MIRACLE’ was the day you were born. The second ‘MIRACLE’ was the time we spent together.』

~*~

** ~ May 1998 ~ **

Severus stood silently in the Forbidden Forest. The last time he had been somewhere near or in Hogwarts had been the night he refused Albus proposition. Since that day, so many things had happened that Severus had a hard time to believe that the man he had been back then was him.

The night was cloudless, and through the foliage, the man could see the light of the moon. It was early, very early, and the world seemed to hold its breath as if it could feel that something big was going to happen in the next few hours.

Narcissa was ready. She was currently hidden in the Room of Requirement, all the Horcruxes with her, one single window overlooking the courtyard. She planned to use Fiendfyre to destroy them, killing herself in the process.

_“After all,” she had said, “There’s nothing that keeps me here anymore. My husband is dead in my eyes for many years, and I’ve already lost Draco. And I don’t think the world after the war will ever accept me…”_

And Severus didn’t try to change her mind, knowing what the woman was feeling.

Nothing was more difficult than trying to carry on when there was nothing to hold onto.

Snape, on the other, was waiting for Voldemort to come at Hogwarts. Dumbledore was still Headmaster, and the school was still receiving students, pureblood, half-blood and muggle-born alike, with an increase of the security on the grounds, though.

The whole event was a ritual of sort. Some “pourparlers” were declared and were held on neutral ground, the school, as it was its first purpose when the castle was built. Negotiations will happen to try to reach some kind of agreements.

It went without saying that since those _meetings_ were first created ten years ago, nothing had come out of them.

One of the unspoken rules of those encounters was that no attacks, ambuscades or actions alike could be taken from both sides of the war.

And Severus, who didn’t belong to any side anymore, was going to break this exact rule and put, he hoped, an end to the war.

All he had to do was to kill Nagini with the dagger infused with basilisk venom (no, you don’t want to know that story). Then he had to fire a killing curse at Voldemort then apparated before being killed himself.

Easy (ah!).

But there was something he wanted to do first. Narcissa had given him it the day before, before making her to Hogwarts, and Severus had been torn between using it or not.

And it seemed like curiosity and sentimentally had won over him in the end.

 _Turned it three times_ had said Narcissa, and Severus closed his eyes, took the little polished, gleaming stone in his hand and turned tree times.

 _“Severus,_ ” someone said, and the man let on sob escaped him as he hunched on himself, trying to keep his feeling at bay.

The fathom feeling of a hand under his chin urged him to lift his head, and his eyes locked with familiar green ones, even if an unhuman glow shone in them.

 _“Oh Sev…”_ smiled Lily Potter sadly, _“You didn’t have to…”_

Severus shook his head, “I did… After everything I did to you… To all of you… He didn’t deserve to die that night…”

The four ghosts looked at him sadly. Remus, silently, went to stand next to him.

“ _I’m sorry, Snape.”_ declared Sirius, looking the at the alive man in the eyes, “ _I was an idiot at school, and my hatred for my family altered by behaviour with Slytherin. I was prejudiced, and I made your schools years a living hell. I’m sorry.”_

Severus smiled hollowly in return. “It’s in the past, Black, I’m not exempted of wrong too. And even if I think my past self would have been delighted to know that you suffer from guilt in death, I’m not.”

The grey-eyed man nodded at him, relieved, and the smile Remus gave him could have enlightened the whole forest.

“ _So, this is it._ ” Eventually murmured James, “ _Everything will end tonight._ ”

“Yes” sighed Severus, “And I hope that once will be over, I’ll be able to finish the heart program for Harry…”

 _“Don’t be too harsh on yourself Sev”_ admonished good naturally Lily, “ _You did more than James and I could have ever hope for him… You gave him a chance at life, and for that…”_

 _“We will be forever grateful._ ”

Severus nodded before taking a deep breath, and looking at the sky, he could saw the first rays of sunlight colouring the night with a lighter tone.

“It’s time he murmured.” there was shifted in the atmosphere, and the ghosts weren’t there anymore when he looked around.

In the distance, Severus heard the sound of several people apparating together, and he knew it was time.

Pocketing the stone in his cloak, he began his slow walk toward Hogwarts.

~*~

『 Mysterious Heart/ Heart Mysterious. Now he knows what ‘SADNESS’ means. 』

~*~

** ~April 2054~ **

After crying for several days (or weeks, as the boy could do so without resting, being a creation, and all…), Harry gathered the remaining of Severus and buried them in the small garden outside, making an oddly shaped cross with some fallen branches he found on the edge of the forest. Then, he stood Merlin knows how long in front of the tomb, tears falling silently from his eyes, enveloped in Severus’ coat. The dark fabric hugged his form like the man used to do, and Harry never understood how precious were those moments until now. Bitterness and remorse tied a knot in his chest.

He cried at the sky, shouting insults he once heard Severus muttered, feeling the injustice of the whole situation.

Once he emptied the anger out of his system, Harry to his knees.

“Why… Why does it have to hurt so much…?” He asked to no one, hands pressed against his chest and his beating heart, trying to soothe the painful throb he felt inside.

A heart was what Severus wanted to give him for years. His unique program, one he dedicated his life for, something the man wished to Harry to experiment. And yet, it hurt so much. The joy he had felt at first had disappeared completely, and now Harry was wondering if he’ll have to live with this pain until the end of time.

From the corner of his eyes, the robot caught the light of a screen. He turned his head toward it and saw that the screen of the main computer was alighted. He frowned, confused. When did it happen?

Slowly, he raised on his feet and walked inside, toward the screen.

He was surprised to see that a new document had appeared in the file was the Kokoro program was. A video named ‘To Harry’, and his curiosity win over the feeling of sorrow that had overwhelmed the next few days, and he started it.

On the screen appeared Severus, looking exactly like he did before he went to his last errand, the one where he came back and fall asleep to never wake up.

“ _Harry… If you are watching this video, then that means I’m dead._ ” He said, looking a bit tired, on edge, a strange look in his eyes. “ _And that I’m unable to explain everything to you face to face. I’m sorry to fail you on that aspect.”_ He chuckled softly. “ _There’s so much I want to tell you, but it’ll take me hours, and I’m not sure I’ll have the time. I’m recording this in late April 1998. I’m not sure of the date, but living ostracised of the rest of the world can do that to people.”_

He sighed before straightening up a little, “ _Seventeen years ago, Britain Magical World was at war against a very dark wizard called Voldemort. It still is, but that’s not important for the moment. I grew up in a time of trouble, and when given a chance, I never was able to get rid of the demons of my past, and I made mistakes, so many mistakes…_ ”

“ _I was friends with your mother. You know who she was. I implemented memories of her and your father in your system, even if, unfortunately, you couldn’t understand the exact meaning of what she is to you, but I digress. I was her friend, but I let myself be tempted by Voldemort and his followers during my school years. An incident happened, involving myself, your father James and three of his friends, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew and Remus Lupin, but you already know the latter.”_

Harry paused the video. He did remember the man, a very kind soul with a sad smile and the moon in his eyes. He remembered that he and Severus were quite close and…

A particular incident came to the forefront of his mind. Harry felt himself blush from head to toe, and he buried his face in his hands, quietly giggling at himself.

“Severus wasn’t eating Remus face that day, after all…” he muttered to himself, trying to shake off the embarrassment he felt a few years too late.

Once he calmed himself a little, he restarted the recording.

“ _Anyway, they weren’t_ kind _, to put it simply with me, back then, and they played on me a nasty prank that hurt me on so many levels…_ ” he shook his head. _“Lily tried to take my defence, but in my foolish pride, I said words I should have never told her, and our friendship fell apart for good this day. It was the last straw, and I became a Death Eater, Voldemort’s follower, right after finishing my studies at Hogwarts._

_“I resented James and his friends for breaking our relationship like that. But taking steps back now, I realise that it was the only conclusion the path I decided to follow could lead me. It was only my fault if I lose her that day. Time healed that particular wound, and you have to know that I have forgiven them in the end, at the exception of Peter Pettigrew._

_You see, at that time, a prophecy was made, telling that the one who would vanquish Voldemort would be born from those who trice defeated him when the seven month dies. You are already aware that I never taught you divination because I think it’s rubbish, but back then… When I was a mere servant at the service of his master… I brought the prophecy to Voldemort._

_You have to know that a prophecy could be interpreted of a thousand different ways. Still, in this case, two children fit the description. The first one was a pureblood boy named Neville Longbottom, but the Dark Lord decided to target the half-blood one instead._

_And this child, Harry, was you.”_

Harry gasped at the declaration, his hands flying to his mouth. _Why does that mean?_ He thought _it’s impossible! Severus created me! So why…?_

_“Peter Pettigrew was the one to inform Voldemort of your existence. He was a coward who decided to betray your parents because of his fears. It is almost ironic when we thought about it. Someone who had every reason to stay on the light side decided to betray it. At the same time, the other, me, so disillusioned and desperate, turned toward the light even knowing that there was nothing for him on the other side._

_As soon as I learned that it was you, Lily’s child, who was targeted, I beg Voldemort to…_ ” Severus stopped a pained look on his face, remorse visible on his whole frame, “ _I beg him to spare her. Not you, not your father, just her. And I’m ashamed of that, and I hope you’ll be able to forgive me one day for that.”_

He sighed, “ _But I also knew it wasn’t enough. So I came to Albus Dumbledore, one of the greatest wizards of the time and the only one Voldemort feared, begging him to hide you all. He did, he consoled the Potter, your family name, to hide under a Fidelitas Charm, like the one this house and area are under. Everyone thought the Secret Keeper would be Sirius Black, your father best friend. Because they were aware of that, James and Sirius agreed that Peter should be the keeper, and they decided to keep the information between the three of them.”_

He swallowed, “ _As soon the Fidelitas was cast, he betrayed your parents and babbled the secret to Voldemort. Then, on the night of Halloween 1981, he went to your house, killed James and Lily, though he asked her to step aside once or twice, then turned his wand against you._ ” He closed his eyes, pained, “ _You were eighteen months old, and he left next to nothing of you after killing you._

_I learnt about Peter betrayal as soon as Voldemort came back from his ‘mission’, congratulated him for his excellent job for helping him locate the Potter. Sirius went after when he heard the news of the Potter’s deaths. He cornered Pettigrew, trying to get him locked down in Azkaban for his treason, unfortunately, that filthy rat was ready, and he managed to kill Sirius and escaped.”_

He shook his head, “ _I still can’t believe Peter succeed the way he did, and I hope that if some kind of justice existed out there in Magic, then he’ll pay the higher price for his deeds.”_

_“I went to the Potter’s house, that night after Voldemort returned. The corpses of your parents had already been taken care of by some Order members, the organisation fighting against Voldemort, to be buried later. There was nothing left of you, though… Or that’s what they thought. When I entered the nursery, later that night, I felt the presence of someone’ magic. But there was no one. No one could produce this presence, but it was so tangible… It was at this point I noted something odd with the crib as if something tried to urge my attention away. When I focussed my undivided attention on the strange feeling, there was a shift, and I saw an orb of golden and green light floating above the small mattress._

_It was your essence._

_I don’t know what kind of miracle allowed it, but it was_ you _. The human body is, after all, only a vessel for someone’s essence._ You _were still there, on this Earth, and I could feel the confusion and fear and sadness emanating from it… Like a lost infant crying out for their parents… And as soon my eyes saw you, I knew I couldn’t leave you there, not when Albus or Voldemort could find you and manipulate you at their will._ ” He sighed, “ _Albus is not a bad man, but he is so caught with his ideals of ‘Greater Good’ that he could cause a lot of damage without meaning it…_

_That night, I took you, your essence, with me, cut my ties with Dumbledore. I found Remus to help me with my escape plan, and disappeared in the middle of Russia… In the house you are currently in._

_At first, I taught it was my guilt for Lily’s death that motivated my choice, but as the years passed. I worked on creating a body for you, I realise it was because I didn’t want to see another child being broken because of circumstances. You had already lost so, so much, and the only thing I could do was trying to give you something more, something better._

_Initially, I taught that using only Dark Arts, like necromancy, would help me in my project. Still, those kinds of rituals create only puppets to be manipulated by their master, so I quickly began to work on other approaches, the muggle way being one of them. It took me a long time, balancing the right amounts of magic and technology, to create a vessel for you, so you would be able to live the life that was denied to you. And I did. Your essence merged with the body I made, and only a few manipulations later, you were there,_ living _, and I couldn’t have been happier._

_And yet, I failed you, as you lacked a heart. I was quite surprised when the first error occurred. Still, your system managed to protect itself, avoiding complications when faced to such issue. I saw this problem as a failure on my part. I’ve finally succeeded in creating a vessel for your essence, but you were unable to feel… I was devastated._

_However, there was little events, daily occurrence, that stood out because they were glimpses of who could be. How many time I saw your parents in your witty retorts or the marauders. Or when you get yourself in trouble._ ” and Severus laughed, his eyes lost, remembering such events. Harry gasped a wet chuckle at the comment, seeing precisely what the man meant by those words. “ _I even find a little of myself in you, and the first time it happened made me realise something I ignored until it smacked me in the face._

 _You are Lily and James’ child, but you are also mine, at least, in my eyes. I care for you a lot, and I never thought that I could…That I could love someone so much. You have no idea how much I owe you.”_ And Severus' eyes were gleaming with unshed tears, “ _You give me so, so much in your way, without understanding it. It was your question, your quick remarks, the way you talked to me about daily routines… It was the joy of seeing you living the life that was denied to you, and I only wish to live it at its fullest._

_And for that to happen, you needed a heart._

_That’s why I dedicated the following years at creating a program that would give you one, that could trigger the right connexions to make you feel happiness, sadness, fear, relief, embarrassment. That could make you feel the freedom of riding a broom can offer or the silent beauty of a bubbling cauldron under the starlight. The quiet joy of admiring a mother hippogriff with her little one or the pure pleasure of sitting near the fireplace, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere of a winter evening. I want you to be able to experiment the fear one can feel when a loved one is in danger and the relief that follow once they are safe. The burning desire for making things better because it’s the_ right thing _to do. There so many things I want you to experiment, things that I denied you for years because of my initial failure. I’ll forever be sorry for the years you lost because I wasn’t good enough…”_

_“Listen, you’ll find in this file a program whose name is written with strange symbols. I want you to download it. It’s my latest version of the program. It is perfect in every way except for instability within the code. I’m not certain of what it might do, but I’m confident in the rest. I wasn’t able to give a heart while I was alive, so see it as my last wish.”_

Severus looked at something a little above the screen, and his lips tightened, shivering a little.

“ _It’s time for me to leave you here. I’m going to do something reckless, stupidly brave that, I hope, will stop the war in England and put an end to Voldemort reign of terror. I’m sorry I had to leave you alone, as I have no idea how long it will take to you to see this video. But there’s one last thing I want to tell._

_Harry, you are so, so loved. Your parents, Lily and James, loved you, Sirius and Remus loved you. I love you, little one, like the son I never had. You are my greatest joy in the world._

_Never, ever, forget that.”_

And those last words, the video stopped, and Harry was crying once more his heart out.

Severus words had hit something deep down in his chest. Something he didn’t know he had, and the boy was feeling happy, and sad, and grieving, and angry, and relieved, and alone, and loved all at once, and it was _glorious_.

He was feeling _alive_.

With tears still falling from his eyes, he copied the video from the computer to his internal system, keeping the memories of the man words within him forever.

This message was for Harry, and Merlin forbid he didn’t take those words with him

As the resolved settle within his chest, Harry stood up and went outside to stand in front of Severus grave, still enveloped in the embrace of the man too big coat.

He gazed fondly at the hand-made cross and buried his hands in his left pocket to retrieve his wand, and as he grabbed it, he was surprised to feel something else.

Closing his fist on both objects, he drew out of the coat his wand and a small black stone with a strange symbol carved into it. Closing his eyes, Harry felt Severus’ magic still clinging at the little rock, and a sad smile tugged at his lips. Bringing the stone against his chest with his right hand, he used his left to wave his wand into a full circle, as Severus did years ago, retrieving from his memories all bit of happiness he could find.

Severus hugging him or patting his head fondly.

Severus teaching him about potions or a new charm.

Severus and his smile when Remus was with him.

Severus and his friendly verbal jousting with that fair looking lady in his last years of life.

Severus and the delight in his eyes when Harry first opened his.

Severus and the last words he addressed to him…

_It was in May 1998, and Harry was cleaning his recharging base when a ‘crack!’ was heard from the kitchen. He had put his broom against the nearest wall and went toward the sound, knowing that his creator was back._

_He had entered the room to find Severus half leaning against the ground, his right hand against his throat, trying to stop the bleeding from an unseen wound. Harry hadn’t understood completely what was happening. The next moment, Severus had lifted his eyes toward him and had_ smiled _the brightest smile Harry ever saw him have. He had gestured him to come close, cradling his face with one bloody hand, and his lips had tried to form words, but he went limp and fall to the ground before being able to say them._

But Harry now knew what the man had wanted to tell him.

“ _I love you, Harry, forever and always._ ”

And with his chest filled with love, he exclaimed:

“ _Spero Patronum!”_

~*~

『 The third MIRACLE is the pure heart from you in the future 』

~*~

** ~May 1998~ **

Severus was making his way toward Hogwarts when he felt the resurrection stone in his pocket becoming suddenly warm. He paused, frowning, and as he was going to reach into it, a wave of _happiness_ submerged him, filled with a mysterious presence he was quite acquainted with.

A thread of silver light shot out from his pocket were the stone was and took the form of a beautiful stag, running around him before bumping his forehead against his chest. The man could only stare at it in awe, petting his head.

He didn’t understand. This Patronus felt like Harry, but not entirely, there was something different… Something more…

_There was so much love…_

And as the Patronus stepped back, it slowly morphed into another shape. A few seconds later, Severus was face to face with the tear-stained face of his little Harry looking up at him with an immense smile.

“Severus!” he exclaimed, and the potion master looked back at him in shock.

“Harry…?” he murmured, his voice half caught in his throat, and his hand went toward the boy's face, and the robot cupped it with his, bringing it to his cheek.

“You did it, Severus. You gave me a heart… Even if several decades separate us…” murmured Harry, his eyes gleaming, and the man couldn’t find any word to answer him.

“I know that I won’t have a lot of time, but I want to tell you thank you for everything. For giving me a life in this world, for everything you taught me, you the time we spent together. Thank you, thank you so much…”

Severus was crying, his shoulders shaking, at the boy’s words, and Harry moved first and hugged him, and oh! The touch was so _real_!

The man hugged the Patronus back, patting his head as the boy soaked into the warm embrace.

He didn’t know how long they stay this way, but eventually, the charm began to wear off. Reluctantly, Severus let go of the boy, still keeping him at arms reach, his hands on the boy's shoulder.

And Harry was looking at him with such fond eyes that it made Severus smile softly at the boy. Cupping his head, he bent down the kiss his forehead.

“I love you, son.”

The smile Harry gave him was so bright that it eclipsed the sun,

“And I love you too, Daddy, forever and always.”

Severus choked on a sob as Harry finally disappeared from view, the only memory of his presence being the warm feeling in Severus' chest.

He allowed himself a few more minutes to bask into the feeling of happiness that surrounded him at this moment. Then, with a deep breath, he wiped his eyes with his sleeves, patted his pocket to be sure that the stone was still there, and walked toward Hogwarts, intending to end it all once and for all.

~*~

『 And indeed, it was a MIRACLE.

The robot who received a HEART lived his life at his fullest like his creator wanted him to do.

He transformed all of his feelings into the most beautiful magic.

But the MIRACLE lasted only a moment.

The HEART was too big for him.

Unable to bear its weight, the machine shorted

And never was able to move again. 』

~*~

** ~September 2055~ **

“So, this is where they are resting.” Murmured Creevey, looking at the garden at the back of the house.

Next to him, Miss Longbottom hummed softly, trying not to disturb the peacefulness of the scene in front of them.

If the forest had become beautiful because of the magical explosion, it was nothing compared to its epicentre. No words could have described the _rightfulness_ of the place, as magic Itself was singing its harmony. And in the middle of it all was a tomb covered with the most beautiful flowers. Next to it was the form of a sleeping boy. One could have thought he was human if it weren’t for the melted wires, metal, skin and clothes on his chest.

“We can’t report the existence of this place, can we?” asked rhetorically the blond at the brunette.

They had seen the video the man recorded specially for Harry, after seeing the first one. And even if it had felt like breaching the privacy of the small family of two, it also helped their decision about the matter at hand.

“Indeed. We’ll tell our boss that we found an abandoned laboratory in which everything was destroyed by the explosion. Whoever did their experiments in there died in the process.” She declared while destroying all the notes she had taken during the exploration.

“What about the part Snape had in the defeat of Voldemort? Should we tell them that the mysterious hero was a long-wanted criminal?”

Miss Longbottom looked up at him as if he was dumb.

“I suppose not, as it would arise to many questions, roger that.” Quickly corrected himself Creevey, and the almost-smile that the woman cracked was worth her reprimand.

Still, before apparating away, Creevey placed a stasis charm on the garden to keep it this way the longest time possible. Miss Longbottom created a flower crown she deposed on the boy's head. Together, they observed silently, respectfully, the whole scene. They graved it into their memory, then they were on their way, hoping that the two people resting in this place will forever be in peace.

~*~

『 However, his face was filled with a smile. He looked like an angel.』

**Author's Note:**

> I really, really hope you like it! Comments are highly appreciated!
> 
> I see you around! Stay safe and have all an amazing day!


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